The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited The Summerfield Community Centre in Birmingham, England today to show their support to the victims of the senseless riots which swept through the country last week.

Catherine continues to favour the military inspired looks from the Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2011 collection.

I find it a little unnerving that she is wearing flashy designer clothes designer to a impoverished area recovering from a riot. That said, in terms of style,I don’t think that this is one of her best choices. It just doesn’t quite work — I think another comment said it best when they suggest it didn’t work well with her broad shoulders.

I echo the sentiment that she overdoes her eyeshadow. It is very obvious that she does her own make-up. What she needs to realize that her personal preference for dark smudgy liner just does not photograph well.

I like this look on Catherine. As for sucking the edginess out of the outfit, I say BS. That blouse and skirt are timeless. It is the slick ponytail and the boots on the model that give it the edge. So if that is your style, go for it. I think the McQueen brand’s success is due in large part to the fact that it’s pieces, while outstanding on their own, can adapt to many different women and their lifestyles. This skirt and blouse would work on a woman of any age. On Catherine I think some black patent pumps would have worked better.

I really feel I have to revisit my comments. I did not realize she was visiting the riot victims until I re-read the post just now, I thought she was attending a normal social function. In light of the circumstances it probably does not matter if she looked boring or not. It might be just as well that she didn’t in fact.

Like others have said, she takes the McQueen out of McQueen; Sarah Burton really needs to find a way to tell her no. Plus I’m not sure McQueen is what I’d whip out to go and meet with folks who have lost everything, & had their livelihoods destroyed by senseless hooligans. something a little less flashy would have been more event appropriate imo.

I really like this. And im glad she finally changed up the eyeliner. Its still not great, but she finally put it on the waterline(which I do) but how does it stay there? Mine usually blend into the lash line, and thats why I wear it like that.
All she needs is a ponytail. Her hair is slightly frizzy, so I assume it is humid! She looks good.

I adore the skirt – great cut and fit and she looked great walking in it! (the top pic doesn’t do it justice) – and I like the outfit as a whole. Funky. The shoes people are knocking are simple Prada pumps. I don’t get the hate. They’re nice navy pumps.

I think Kate’s a great brand ambassador for McQueen. She shows that it can be ladylike and wearable by everyone, not just edgy superstars. (Hey, Jane Lynch just rocked one.) That is a change Sarah Burton has brought about. McQueen’s clothes were always fabulous, but not exactly wearable. Now it does both. McQueen has plenty of other well-known people and editorials that show the edgy side of the brand. It’s not suffering at the moment. On the contrary…

I bet she realises that she’s going to get the most photographs taken in her early years in the Royal family, and that any of those photographs showing anything faddish or outlandish will be recycled for the rest of her life and beyond – think of all the Diana obituaries with the see-through skirt and overly low-cut black dress from when she was 19 years old.

Unlike the rest of us with our freedom to take risks and experiment with fashion, and get it wrong every now and then, Kate’s going to have to live with every fashion choice being thrown back at her for the rest of her life. She’s on the safe side of fashion-forward, but I can’t blame her a bit. We are not her target audience!

i completely agree with this. also, while so many would like to rhapsodize about alexander mcqueen as if he’s still living and still carrying around that same edgy cachet, the reality remains that the house and the brand has become something much more important than that since his untimely demise and the duchess embodies that change.

I like it. A bit out of her comfort zone which is applaudable. Doesnt 100% pull it off but shes on the right path-and we do have to remember where she is, fashion should take a back seat, lets hope shes leaving the more ‘fashion’ looks for more suitable occasions.

Not too impressed by Duchess Doolittle, sorry. I agree with the commenters who note that she probably doesn’t have the flair to pull off wearing McQueen, and that her hair is always the same. I guess she considers her hair her best feature.
Always wearing navy, cream color combinations would drive me crazy. Major yawn factor here…

aren’t we all?! you see really stylish women like rachel zoe and anne hathaway singing the praises of her style and alot of people don’t get it 😀 personally i’m always trying to convince myself that she looks good when sometimes she just doesn’t!

That’s because Rachel and Anne are ass-kissing. I’m sorry, but it is mindless celeb ass-kissing and probably a bit of social pandering to royalty as well. They think it gives them more ‘cache’ so to speak if they let the world see that they can align themselves with and relate to the fashion sense of popular British royalty.

My thoughts exactly, she has worn these shoes a lot and they are very dull and not especially stylish or flattering. She could do better without going crazy. Interesting thought about the eyeliner, I hadn’t considered it until now but it makes sense, why though???

To make an Alexander Mc Queen outfit look boring takes some skill but Kate manages it. I’m trying to think back to when I was 30 – was I that timid?
Navy (both literally and colourwise) overkill. Boring hair, boring shoes, no belt bling, no shot of colour (funky red lippy would have been inappropriate, I agree). Having said that, this whole outfit is a strange choice for the occasion, I find – her husband’s in civvies and she dresses in military style – What the what?

My biggest problem is where she is wearing it. How inaappropriate. She is visiting victims of the riots, and she shows up in a $10,000 outfit. Wearing Zara or Topshop would have been much better. And a little color would help. I do like it though.

I`d say a sleek bun 🙂 def. not the very feminine loose wavy hair with this military inspired outfit. Bad shoe choice too, prefer the model`s.
It`s a chic outfit, love it on her, but the styling is all wrong.

Why doesnt she try another hairstyle?? Honestly, more than wearing the same patterns and same colours.. that is starting to bother more than any other thing.. On the other hand, she always looks great 🙂